Cheap as chips...trade deal ‘will cut fish tariffs by 20%’
A POST-BREXIT trade deal with Greenland means we could soon be tucking into cheaper fish and chips.
Talks on a free trade agreement will kick off today, with slashing seafood tariffs by up to 20 per cent top of the menu.
Trade between the two countries was worth £10million in 2020.
An additional £49million worth of coldwater shrimp is also shipped here from Greenland, the world’s largest island.
The deal will set up a platform to deepen co-operation on ensuring regional stability in the Arctic, as well as collaboration on UK priorities including science, technology, climate change and development. Talks were launched at a meeting in Denmark between Katherine Dark, the British Embassy Copenhagen political head, and Greenland’s prime minister Mute Bourup Egede.
Cutting tariffs by up to 20 per cent on Greenland specialities like prawns and cod fillets would help our supermarkets and catering and hospitality businesses.
And ultimately consumers will benefit as the reductions pave the way for a cut in wholesale prices.
The Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs plans to begin parallel talks to gain fishing opportunities in Greenland’s waters, which could bring significant benefits to the UK’s trawler fleet.
International Trade Secretary AnneMarie Trevelyan said: “A deal will be a boost for our fish and seafood processing sector – a key industry for Yorkshire and Scotland.
“Greenland also has a vital geo-strategic location in the Arctic and as such, I look forward to bringing our two countries closer together.”
She added: “The trade agreements we have agreed so far with 70 countries will help us level up every part of the UK.”
Martyn Boyers, CEO of Grimsby Fish Market, called the talks positive news for the Lincolnshire town. He said: “An agreement would take away any uncertainty of the continuity of supply, benefiting the local processors who repack product from Greenland.
“The knock-on effect substantiates continued local jobs and employment as well as benefiting local hauliers who provide onward distribution into caterers, restaurants and food service.”